


Flours & Flowers

by Sarady



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Baker & Florist AU, Baker Haise, Bakery AU, Florist AU, Florist Juuzou, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, Lot's of fluff, M/M, Nonbinary Character, Nonbinary Juuzou, and probably change the rating too, i'll add more characters and tags as the story goes on
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-29
Updated: 2018-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-27 13:34:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7620067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sarady/pseuds/Sarady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Haise has just moved to Tokyo, and opened his own bakery. Opposite of the street, there's a small flower shop and there works a beautiful, young person named Juuzou, who arouses Haise's interest. It won't take long as two of them becomes good friends, but soon they start to feel new feelings towards each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it finally is! My new HaiSuzu fic. If you have read my other fanfic, you probably remember that I said I'm gonna start to write another one, and that it'll be an AU. So, baker!Haise and florist!+nonbinary!Juuzou, because why the hell not.  
> I don't know yet, how long this will be. But we'll see. I've been creating this story in my head for some time now, so at least I know what I'm doing this time, haha. There's going to be a lot of fluff. And when I say a lot, I mean it. Don't worry, there's gonna be smut too. But mostly just. Fluff. This is probably going to be the fluffiest fic I've ever wrote.  
> Oh right, I started to write this some time ago, but didn't publish it until now since I couldn't came up with a good name. The title is still kinda lame, but it's better than nothing right..?  
> Oh well, I hope you guys enjoy this! c':

It was pretty normal summer morning. The streets of Tokyo were busy and crowded. In somewhere middle of the crowd there was a young, black and white haired man looking like he wasn’t really sure where to go.

“Where was that place again…” he mumbled to himself, looking at the map from his phone. He looked around him and saw street’s name in the signpost.

“Oh, it looks like I’m closer than I thought”, he laughed and continued walking.

Soon he arrived to pedestrian zone. As he walked forward, he saw many shops around him.

“Now I should be close…” the man said and soon saw a sign above one shop, “Sasaki’s bakery”.

“Ah, this is it”, he said and took a key from his pocket, opening the shop’s door with it. He stepped inside, looking around him. It was a small shop with a small kitchen at the back and few shelves around here and there. The man put his hands to his hips and looked forwards determined.

“Yush, time to start working”, he said and closed the door behind him.

* * *

 

After a few hours he was done. The whole shop was cleaned from top to bottom and there were freshly baked bread and pastries on the shelves.

“I think it’s time to open”, the man said, satisfied with his job. He put the “open” sign to the door and opened it, looking around the street. The first thing he noticed was a small flower shop right opposite the street. He saw that it was open, and decided to go check it out. It wouldn’t be so bad to get to know some people around here.

“Hello, is anyone here?” man said as he stepped to the store. He looked around him, seeing all those beautiful flowers and plants. The good scent of flowers filled the air.

“Ah, please wait a moment, I’ll be right there!” man heard a sweet voice from behind the shelves.

“Hello there, how can I help you?” the voice came now behind the man, and as he turned around, he saw this beautiful person with white skin, big, red eyes and black hair that was tied to a bun. Man noticed some kind of red marks on the person’s skin, probably stitches or something. The person was wearing a loose top and shorts with an apron on top of them. From the first look it was very hard to say whether the person was a boy or a girl. But overall, the person was really pretty.

“Oh, umm… I’m Haise Sasaki. I just moved here a while ago, and I have just opened a new bakery opposite the street”, the man introduced himself.

“Oh, nice to meet you! I’m Juuzou Suzuya, and I’m the owner of this flower shop. There’s two other workers besides me, but they haven’t arrived yet”, other person then introduced themself and smiled. “So you’re a baker? That’s awesome!” Juuzou said excitedly.

“Really? I don’t think it’s really that awesome”, Haise then said a little humbly, scratching his neck.

“Yeah, it is! Or at least I think so, because I love pastries like muffins and cakes and other sweet stuff”, Juuzou laughed a little and smiled. “Soo, you’re new around here, huh? Where did you come from? And what brings you to Tokyo?” they asked and got a little closer to Haise, curious expression on their face.

“Ah, well, I moved to here from Kyoto. And why I came to Tokyo, well that’s pretty good question, since even I’m not very sure about that”, Haise said and laughed a little. “I just kinda wanted a new start… And I thought I could prosper here, or at least that’s what others told me”.

“Oh I see. From Kyoto huh? I’ve been there few times. You’ve come pretty long way”, Juuzou said and took a watering can to water some flowers.

“Yeah, I guess I have”, Haise granted and looked at Juuzou with a small, calm smile on his face. “Well, I guess I’ll leave now. It was very nice to meet you, Suzuya”, he then said and smiled now a little more.

“Oh, please just call me Juuzou. No need to be so formal”, Juuzou then demanded.

“O-oh… Well, then you can call me just Haise”, the man said with a small blush on his face.

“Okay!” Juuzou smiled. “It was really nice to meet you too, Haise~” Juuzou then waved their hand as Haise went out of the store.

‘ _He was… Pretty nice…_ ’ Haise thought with a small smile on his face as he went inside his bakery. “Maybe moving here wasn’t so bad idea after all…” he talked to himself, looking outside the window to the florist shop opposite the street.


	2. Chapter 2

The clock was only around eight in the morning, but the streets were already crowded. Haise walked in middle of the crowd, trying to get past the people. He finally got to the pedestrian zone, and soon arrived to his shop. He took the key from his pocket, opened the door and put an open sign to it. After that he put on his apron and started working.

First few hours went by while baking things and putting them to the shelves. There weren’t any customers yet, and Haise started to get kinda worried. But then he heard the bell above the door ringing as someone came in to the shop.

“Oh, welcome!” Haise arrived from the kitchen with freshly baked cupcakes.

“Good morning…” a beautiful, purple-haired young woman greeted him, looking around the shop. Haise put the cupcakes to the shelf while looking at the woman. She was really pretty.

“How can I help you?” Haise then asked as the customer continued looking around.

“Ah, well, I heard here’s a new bakery, so I just wanted to check it out”, the woman said and walked towards the cash desk.

“Oh, I see”, Haise said with a smile. But he hadn’t told about his bakery almost to anyone yet, and he hadn’t advertised about it anywhere. “Umm, may I ask, where did you hear about this?”

“Do you know that flower shop opposite the street? The owner of it, Suzuya, told me”, the woman told and a little bit surprised expression came to Haise’s face.

“So it was Juuzou, huh..?” he thought out aloud.

“Oh, so you know them?” woman asked when she heard Haise saying Juuzou’s name.

“Ah, yeah, kinda. I met him yesterday. Are you his friend or something?” Haise said and smiled.

“Well, something like that”, the woman giggled a little. “We’ve known each other for some time, so I guess we are friends”, she shrugged her shoulders and looked again around her.

“Hmm, do you have blueberry pie?” she then asked.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I haven’t had time to make it yet. I have apple and cherry pie. But if you want something blueberry flavored, I have blueberry muffins”, Haise then said.

“Oh I see. I think I’ll take some muffins then”, the woman said and smiled.

“Sure! How many you want?” Haise asked and took a paper bag.

“I think three is enough.”

“Okay”, Haise started to put muffins to the bag. “Here you go! It’s 900 yens” he handed bag to the woman.

“Thank you!” the woman said and took the bag, gave the money and started to walk to the door.

“Thank you and come again!” Haise said with a smile as the woman went outside. He put his hands to his waist, looking forwards determinedly.

“Yush, my first customer”, he said proudly and went back to the kitchen.

* * *

 

A while after that even more customers started to come in, and few next hours were very busy for Haise. After some time, it finally looked like there wasn’t more customers coming, so Haise could take a small break and continue baking. But just when he went to the kitchen, he heard the bell ringing and went back to the shop side.

“Welcome! How can I help—Oh!” Haise cut off his sentence when he saw who the customer was.

“Hello, Haise!” Juuzou greeted the man with a sweet smile. Haise looked at the other person amazed and speechless. Juuzou was wearing a light blue summer dress and white high tights. The other person was just so beautiful, Haise felt how a small blush came to his face as he looked at Juuzou.

“Hmm? What now?” Juuzou asked, walking closer to Haise, bringing their face closer to his while still smiling.

“Ah! Umm, nothing..!” Haise moved his head back when Juuzou came closer. Juuzou giggled a little.

“Oh really~?” they said with a small smirk. “Have you had any customers?” Juuzou then asked while looking around them.

“Oh, yeah. Surprisingly many, actually”, Haise said and smiled while looking at the other person.

“That’s good to hear!” Juuzou turned their gaze back to Haise with a bright smile on their face. Then Haise noticed they were hiding something behind their back.

“What are you hiding?” he asked with a small laugh.

“Ah, you noticed!” Juuzou said, revealing a bouquet behind their back. There were many flowers, buttercups, alstroemerias, eustomas, chrysanthemums, and some heather flowers.

“They’re for you!” Juuzou handed the bouquet to Haise and smiled.

“Oh, t-thank you”, Haise took the bouquet with a little bit confused expression on his face.

“It took me some time to choose those flowers just for you. All of them has their own meanings after all, you know?” Juuzou said, still smiling.

“Ah, yeah, I know. Somehow. Or well, I know about the flower language, but I only know a few meanings of some flowers. And actually, I don’t know any of these”, Haise said a little embarrassed, laughing little bit.

“Oh? Well I can tell you about them then!” Juuzou said, starting to point the flowers. “Heather flower means good fortune and good luck. Chrysanthemum cheerfulness, support and good spirits. Eustoma means a long and happy life, appreciation for peace and joy in your life, friendliness and congeniality. Then alstroemeria means withstanding the trials of everyday life, devotion and mutual support. And yellow buttercup means new beginning, joy, happiness and friendship. Of course they have many other meanings too, but those are ones why I chose them”, Juuzou finally finished their explanation. Haise just looked at the flowers on his arms.

“Oh wow… They all have so many meanings”, he thought out aloud, looking then at Juuzou. “I kinda understand them all but… Devotion and friendship, huh? So does that mean we’re friends or something?” Haise smiled a little.

“Yep! Of course we are friends!” Juuzou said with a big, bright smile on their face.

“O-oh, really..?” Haise felt a blush on his face again. He looked at Juuzou’s pretty, smiling face. That white skin, big red eyes and fluffy black hair. Now when Haise thought about it, Juuzou somehow reminded him of Snow White little bit. It was still really hard to say whether they were a boy or a girl thought, especially now when they were wearing a dress.

“Umm, Juuzou… May I ask something?” Haise asked after some time.

“Sure! We’re friends, right? You can ask me anything!” Juuzou said, still smiling.

“Ah, well… This might sound a little weird but… You are a...boy, right?” Haise then asked carefully with a small laugh. Juuzou shook their head.

“No, I’m not”, they then said. Haise looked at them surprised.

“Wha—! Really? So, a-are you a girl, then..?” he asked, and Juuzou shook their head again.

“Nope, definitely not a girl”, Juuzou said and giggled. Haise looked at them for a while, until realized.

“Oh, so you’re… Oh my god. Oh my god I’m so sorry..!” Haise apologized quickly and Juuzou looked at him a little confused.

“I didn’t know. I thought you were a boy. I’ve been misgendering you all this time oh my god I’m so sorry!” Haise kept apologizing, until he heard Juuzou laughing.

“It’s okay! No need to apologize. We just met yesterday so of course you didn’t know”, Juuzou said and smiled. “To be honest I don’t mind that much if someone calls me a boy or uses he/him pronouns. I have a male’s body and stuff after all.”

“O-oh, I see…” Haise said a little embarrassed and rubbed his neck. Then he remembered the flowers. “Ah, I should probably… go find a vase for these”, he then said with a small smile.

“Go ahead”, Juuzou smiled too, and Haise went to the kitchen. In the meantime, Juuzou looked around, admiring all those delicious looking pastries around them.

Soon Haise came back from the kitchen.

“Would you like to buy something?” he then asked when he noticed Juuzou looking at the shelves.

“Ah, yeah, I just don’t know what… They all look so good”, Juuzou said, looking at some cakes. “I think… I’ll take this one”, they pointed at the mint chocolate cake.

“Okay. It’ll be 2000 yen”, Haise said and put the cake to a plastic box.

“Here you go”, Juuzou gave the money to Haise and took the cake. “Ah, I think I gotta go back to work now”, they then said after noticing how much the clock was. “See you soon!” Juuzou waved to Haise until left the shop.

“Yeah, see you”, Haise said before Juuzou left. He walked to the window, looking at Juuzou who walked towards their own shop. 

* * *

 

“I’m back!” Juuzou said when they went back to their shop.

“Welcome back, Juzo-chan!” they heard a voice from behind the shelves and a blue-haired girl appeared from behind it.

“Ooh is that a cake?!” the girl exclaimed and ran to Juuzou.

“Yeah. Let’s eat it on the next break”, Juuzou said and girl pouted.

“But I want to eat it now! Where did you even get it?” she took Juuzou’s arm, shaking it a little.

“Stop that, Saiko! I’m the one who bought it, so I can decide when we eat it. And I bought it from that bakery opposite the street”, they said and pointed at the bakery.

“What there’s a new bakery?! How I haven’t heard about it?” Saiko looked to opposite the street with a little abashed expression.

“There’s a giant sign above the door where it says “Sasaki’s bakery” with huge letters and you haven’t noticed? And I think I did mention about it”, Juuzou laughed a little. Girl looked at them with confused gaze.

“Oh, you’re back, Suzuya”, they then heard a voice from behind them and yellow-haired boy came from the backroom.

“Don’t tell me you were sleeping again, Shirazu”, Juuzou said with scolding tone.

“Uhh, sorry”, Shirazu apologized and scratched his neck. “But there weren’t any customers so… Hey, is that a cake?” he saw the cake and quickly changed the subject.

“Even if there’s not customers, you could at least water some flowers or do something else”, Juuzou said and sighed. “We’re going to eat it on the next break. If you want some, you better do your job”, they then walked past their friends and brought the cake to the backroom. Then Juuzou put on their apron and took the watering can.

“By the way, what you did with those flowers you took before you left?” Shirazu wondered.

“To the owner of that new baker”, Juuzou said while watering the flowers.

“Huh? But why?” he asked again. Juuzou shrugged their shoulders.

“It was like a welcoming gift. And I kinda… Want to get to know him better”, they said and a small smile came to their face.

“Ooh? What’s that? You trying to get in his pants or something?” Saiko suddenly said teasingly while smirking widely.

“Wha-? N-no way! I just met him yesterday!” Juuzou stuttered while blushing and almost dropped the watering can from their hand.

“But wasn’t that quite big bouquet for someone you’ve just met? And you don’t usually give flowers to others like that”, Shirazu started to tease too.

“W-well, I already told you I want to get to know him better… And he seems like a nice guy…” Juuzou mumbled.

“Hmm really~? I’d like to meet him too. I mean, who wouldn’t want to date a guy who owns a bakery!” Saiko said, giggling a little.

“Oh just shut up, both of you. Or you won’t get any cake”, Juuzou snarled and others apologized immediately, starting to water the flowers too. 

* * *

 

Soon was time for their break, so they all went to the backroom and Juuzou gave a slice of cake for all three of them, and they started to eat.

“Ooh, this is really good!” Saiko exclaimed, stuffing her mouth full of cake.

“Mmm, you’re right! I don’t think I’ve ever eaten anything this good”, Juuzou said while eating the cake. Then they heard a voice from the shop’s entrance.

“Umm, hello? Is anyone there?” Juuzou immediately stood up and went out from the backroom when they heard the voice.

“Oh, Haise! What are you doing here?” they asked with a big smile when they saw the black and white haired man.

“Ah, well, I was about to go home from work, but I wanted to see you first…” he said and rubbed his neck, blushing a little.

“Who is it, Juzo-chan?” Saiko and Shirazu appeared from the backroom.

“Ah, hey there. I’m Haise Sasaki. I own the bakery opposite the street”, the man introduced himself.

“Ooh so it’s you!” Saiko went closer to Haise, looking closely at every detail of him.

“Hmm, not bad. Not bad at all”, she whistled while looking at the man. “May I ask are you single~?” she asked with a big smirk on her face.

“Ehh..? Um, yes, I am. Why are you asking?” Haise said and blushed again.

“Really?! Hey Juzo, you better hurry up and make him yours, because that kind of hot mess will be taken before you even know”, Saiko turned to look at Juuzou while pointing at Haise.

“W-what the..?! Saiko, stop that!” Juuzou snarled at the girl and blushed brightly. Haise just stood still and blushed too.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry about that… She can be really annoying sometimes…” they apologized, covering their face with hands in embarrassment.

“I-it’s okay, don’t worry about it”, Haise said and smiled, scratching his neck again.

“So, umm, I think I’ll go now. See you tomorrow”, he then waved and turned around, about to leave the shop.

“Oh, sure. See you!” Juuzou waved too and looked after Haise for a while. Saiko and Shirazu were both looking at them with a smirks on their faces. Juuzou then glared at them angrily.

“I swear to god Saiko if you do something like that ever again I will fire you. And same goes to you, Shirazu”, they snarled and the others apologized again. Then all three of them went back to the backroom to finish the cake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yush the second chapter~ ..oh how I just want to hurry up and get to the smut. But I can't. Because it's only the second chapter... And there's still so many stuff that needs to happen before it... Oh well. We'll hopefully get there soon.


	3. Chapter 3

Haise took the key from his pocket and opened his bakery’s door. He put an open -sign to it and turned to look at the flower shop opposite the street for a while, until went inside. Then he put on his apron and went to the kitchen. Haise saw the flowers Juuzou brought to him yesterday, and small smile came to his face. He changed the water on the vase and sniffed the flowers a little, until started working.

* * *

Opposite the street Juuzou was walking towards their shop. They looked at the bakery and was about to start walk towards it, but hesitated and just took the key, opening their shop’s door.

Juuzou went to the backroom and put on their apron, after that they started to water and take care of flowers and plants. After some time Shirazu arrived.

“Morning, Suzuya”, he said while yawning and walking towards the backroom.

“Morning”, Juuzou greeted him with a smile.

“Saiko’s not here yet?” Shirazu asked after he came back from the backroom, putting on his apron.

“Nope. She’s probably late as always”, Juuzou said and put the watering can away.

Soon few customers came in, and about after half an hour Saiko arrived. Whole day went by pretty quickly, and soon it was afternoon.

The three of them had just closed the shop and were about to go home, when Juuzou then saw Haise coming to them from across the street.

“Hey there”, the man greeted them with a smile and a small blush came to his face when Juuzou looked at him. They were so pretty as always. They were wearing a black crop top and shorts and their hair was on a small ponytail.

“Oh, hey Haise”, Juuzou smiled too. “Did you finish your work?”

“Ah, yeah. And it looks like you did too”, Haise said and Juuzou nodded. “So, umm, I was just thinking…” he scratched his neck and looked at Juuzou, then at Saiko and Shirazu behind them, who were both smirking.

“Yes? What is it?” Juuzou tilted their head a little while still smiling.

“Well, uh… There’s this one movie I want to see. And well, I don’t want to go see it alone, because I’ve always went to the movies with friends. But I don’t have any friends here so I was thinking that maybe… Y-you could come with me..?” Haise blushed now more, scratching his neck again.

Juuzou looked at him for a while, and then giggled.

“What’s this, Haise? You asking me for a date~?” they smirked and giggled again. “Of course I can come with you! Actually, let’s all go! It’ll be fun!” Juuzou said with a big smile on their face.

“R-really? That’s great!” Haise said with a little relieved expression.

“Hey Juzo, are you sure you want us with you there too? You could have a change to be all alone together with him”, Saiko said teasingly and smirked. Juuzou glanced at her.

“Well I don’t know about you Saiko, but I’m in. It’s been a while since I’ve been at movies anyway. And well, the more the merrier, right?” Shirazu said, smiling now too.

“Yeah yeah, let’s go then. Of course I want to see the movie too”, Saiko said, showing her tongue to Shirazu. Haise looked at them, letting out a small laugh.

“Thank you guys. Oh, by the way, you two haven’t introduced yourselves yet”, he then realized.

“Oh right. Well, I’m Ginshi Shirazu, and this nuisance is Saiko Yonebayashi”, Shirazu introduced himself and Saiko.

“Hey! Who are you calling a nuisance?” Saiko yelled at the boy who just showed his tongue to her. Haise laughed again.

“Are those two always like that?” he asked and turned to look at Juuzou. They sighed heavily.

“Yeah, unfortunately”, Juuzou laughed too. “But even though they can be very annoying sometimes, they’re still my friends”, a tender smile came to their face.

“So, are we going or not?” Shirazu then asked.

“Yeah, let’s go”, Haise said and four of them started to walk towards the cinema.

* * *

 It didn’t take long as they got there. They bought the movie tickets and some popcorn and went to the cinema hall to wait until the movie would start.

The movie lasted almost two hours and when they got out of the cinema, everyone talked about the movie.

“It. Was. So. Awesome! Probably one of the best movies I’ve ever seen!” Shirazu exclaimed.

“Yeah! It was so cool!! I want to see it again!” Saiko united to praise the movie with him.

“I’ve actually wanted to see that movie for some time, but I didn’t expect it to be that good! I don’t even really like that kind of movies, but that was just amazing. I really hope they make a sequel”, Juuzou said while eating rest of the popcorns they had bought before the movie started. Haise looked at all three of them with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, I think it was pretty good too. What were your favorite scenes by the way? I think mine was that when the main character was going after those bad guys. That ice rink scene was just hilarious” he said and laughed a little.

“I think that was funny too!” Juuzou said. “But hmm, I can’t really say what’s my favorite part. The whole movie was just so good. But I really loved all those fourth wall breaks!”

“Oh yeah, those were just cool! My favorite scene was that fighting scene quite at the beginning of the movie. Oh, and that granny and taxi driver were amazing”, Shirazu said while laughing.

“I really liked the final battle!” Saiko said, moving then little bit closer to Haise with a smirk on her face. “Even though the sex scene was nice too~”. Haise blushed brightly when she said that.

“I can’t believe you moved your gaze away during it! And you blushed so much, you were red as a tomato!” girl laughed loudly.

“S-shut up! I just think those kind of scenes are not really necessary…” Haise mumbled, turning his head away.

“Oh really? And do you think I didn’t notice how you glanced at Juzo during it~?” Saiko continued teasing. Juuzou blushed now too and looked at both of them, but didn’t say anything.

“W-what?! No I didn’t!” Haise protested.

“Riight, whatever you say Romeo”, Saiko said, still smirking.

“Stop it, Saiko!” Juuzou yelled at the girl.

“Sorry, sorry! I was just joking around”, she apologized with a small smirk on her face. Juuzou sighed.

“It’s kinda late, let’s just go home”, they said, scratching their head.

“Yeah, good idea”, Shirazu said and yawned. “Good night. See you on Monday”, he waved to the others and left.

“I’ll go then too. Be good, you two”, Saiko winked at Haise and Juuzou, until ran away giggling. Juuzou sighed again.

“Oh god why she has to be like that… Oh well, I think I’ll go too”, they said and looked at Haise.

“Ah, yeah. Um, in which direction do you live by the way?” Haise then asked.

“On that direction. It’s not that long way”, Juuzou said and pointed.

“Really? I live in that direction too”, Haise smiled. “I could, umm, walk you home, if you want…” he rubbed his neck and blushed.

“Oh..?” Juuzou blushed a little too. “Sure, that would be nice”, they then smiled. Haise smiled too.

“Let’s go then”, he said and they started to walk.

* * *

 The clock was around nine, so it was kinda quiet and dark. Here and there was some people walking, and somewhere in the distance they could hear a police siren.

They walked across the park and Juuzou looked around them.

“How beautiful…” they said quietly while looking at the cherry blossom trees. Haise looked at them, and small smile came to his face.

“I really love cherry blossoms… It’s one of my favorite flowers actually”, Juuzou told while still looking at the trees.

“Really? I actually like them too”, Haise said and took one fallen cherry blossom from the ground. “They’re just really pretty…” he turned towards Juuzou and carefully put the flower to their hair, next to their hairpins. “But not as pretty as you…” he said softly, and tenderly caressed Juuzou’s cheek while smiling. Juuzou felt a blush on their face.

“H-Haise…” they said quietly. Then Haise moved his hand away and soon his face turned red when he realized what he just said.

“U-umm, I-I mean..!” he stuttered, not knowing what to say. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean it! Or well yes, I did mean it, b-but not in any weird way! I must be just really tired, s-so I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore..!”

Juuzou looked at him for a while, until started to laugh.

“What the hell? You’re so weird”, they said while laughing. “It’s kinda cute how you get embarrassed so easily”, Juuzou giggled. Haise blushed even more and turned his head away.

“Do you really think I’m pretty~?” Juuzou then asked with a small smirk and brought their face closer to Haise’s.

“U-umm, well, y-yeah…” Haise said and scratched his neck. Now Juuzou blushed too.

“O-oh…” they said and looked away. “Well, t-thank you”, a shy smile came to their face. Haise looked at them for a while and then rubbed his neck again.

“Uh, we should probably continue walking?” he said with a small smile.

“Oh, right”, Juuzou said and smiled too, starting then to walk with Haise.

* * *

 After some time walking they arrived to Juuzou’s house. It was a nice little house with a small garden full of flowers. They walked to the door and there Juuzou turned towards Haise.

“Thank you for walking me home. And for taking me to the movies. It was fun”, they said and smiled.

“Ah, yeah. Thank you for coming to the movies with me”, Haise smiled too.

“Hey, since tomorrow is Saturday and my shop is closed on weekends I was thinking that maybe… We could hang out tomorrow too?” Juuzou then asked and Haise looked at them with a little surprised expression.

“Oh… Yeah! Sure! That would be great”, he said, smiling again.

“Great! See you tomorrow then”, Juuzou smiled and opened their house’s door.

“Yeah, see you”, Haise said and started to walk away towards his own home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay, third chapter! I really hope you guys enjoy how the story is going so far c': I really enjoy writing this fic, so I hope that you like reading it as much as I like writing it :D  
> Can you guys by the way guess what movie they went to see? I'm not gonna tell but movie's title has words pool and dead on it c; lol. I dunno, I just couldn't think of any other movies so that's the first one that came to my mind. And because it's a great movie after all.  
> Oh, and please keep those nice comments and kudos' coming! Because those are what keeps me writing this story c:


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yayy a new chapter! Gah, I'm so sorry this took so long Dx You see, the school has started and is pretty much eating all my energy and motivation so yeahh... So yeah, I won't probably publish new chapters/stories that often as before. So please just be patient! Oh well, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

It was around eleven in the morning, and Haise was standing in front of the flower shop. He didn’t really know where to go or what to do, since Juuzou hadn’t said anything where they would meet and what time. And he didn’t have their number, so he couldn’t call them or send a message. So Haise thought this would be the best place to wait for the other. Of course Haise had thought about going to Juuzou’s house too, since he now knew where they lived, but didn’t really know if that would have been a good idea. Besides he didn’t even know how long Juuzou slept. It was weekend after all.

Haise sighed heavily and walked to other side of the street, sitting down to stairs that led to his bakery. He had brought a book with him, so at least he had something to do while waiting for the other. So he opened the book, and started to continue reading.

* * *

“Ah, you’re here!” he then heard a voice and moved his gaze away from the book. Then he saw Juuzou, running towards him while waving with their hands. Haise put the book to his bag and stood up, without moving his eyes from Juuzou. They were so beautiful as always. They were wearing a white tank top and light, pastel violet cardigan with violet-grayish skirt and pastel pink thigh highs. Their hair was a little curled and it looked really soft and fluffy.

“I’m sorry, I should have told you yesterday where to meet! But thank god, you were here. I thought about to come here and wait for you, but it looks like you managed to be here before me”, Juuzou said while trying to catch their breath.

“It looks like we both thought the same thing then”, Haise smiled a little. “But yeah, it would have been nice if you would have told me where to meet. Maybe we should add each other’s phone numbers so this doesn’t happen again”, he let out a small laugh.

“Yeah! Phone numbers! That’s actually what I thought too! So, what is your number? I’ll add you right away”, Juuzou said and took their phone from their purse, and they added each other’s numbers.

“So, what are we going to do now? You’re the one who asked me to hang out, you know” Haise then asked.

“Ahh well, I haven’t really thought about it… I’d like to go to a mall and just roam around there for a while”, Juuzou suggested after thinking a while.

“Sure, that’s fine for me”, Haise said and smiled. Juuzou smiled too, and they started to walk together towards the mall.

* * *

 

They walked around the mall for some time, just looking at all the shops and wondering where to go first. Haise wanted to visit a bookstore to see if there’s one new book he wanted to buy, and they went there. After that Juuzou wanted something good so they ate some ice cream, and continued to walk around. Then Juuzou saw a game arcade.

“Let’s go there!” they suggested, and before Haise said anything, Juuzou had disappeared and Haise followed them to arcade.

Juuzou looked around with a big smile on their face. Haise walked behind them, looking around too.

“Wow, I didn’t know there was an arcade…” he said, being a little impressed.

“This is one of my favorite places. I come here always when I’m bored and want to play something”, Juuzou then told. “What you wanna play first?”

“Huh? Me?” Haise said with surprised expression. “Ah, well, let me think…” he said while looking around. “What about that one?” he then pointed at one rhythm game.

“Ooh, that’s one of my favorites! You like rhythm games too, huh?” Juuzou asked.

“Well, sort of, I guess… I like many kind of games”, Haise said with a small smile and scratched his neck.

“Oh, I see. Okay, I’m first”, Juuzou smiled and started playing. First they chose the song and adjusted the difficulty level. Their hands and fingers moved smoothly on top of the buttons, Haise looking at them impressed.

“Wow, you’re good”, he said while looking at the other playing.

“I have practiced”, they said, not moving their gaze from the game.

“Aww fuck, looks like I missed some”, Juuzou pouted when the song ended. “Do you wanna try?” they looked at Haise.

“Yeah, sure”, he said and they switched places. Haise chose the song and adjusted the difficulty one step harder than it was for Juuzou. Then the game started. Haise moved his hands and fingers fast, it looked almost like he was playing a piano really intensely. Juuzou’s jaw dropped as they looked Haise playing, speechless and impressed.

“Well that was easy”, Haise said as the game ended. He had missed only few notes. He looked at Juuzou and a little amused expression came to his face.

“Oi, what’s with that face?” Haise laughed.

“Just… How…” Juuzou was still speechless. “Just holy fuck why you didn’t tell me you’re so good at that?!” they finally got their voice back and almost yelled. Haise shrugged his shoulders.

“I have practiced”, he said and smirked. Juuzou nudged Haise’s arm with their elbow lightly, letting out a small laugh.

“Damn you. But I have to say, I’m really impressed. I haven’t yet met anyone who’s better in that game than me”, Juuzou said and giggled. Haise smiled gently and placed his hand to top of Juuzou’s head, ruffling their hair.

“Don’t worry, you just have to practice a little harder. Who knows, maybe you’re someday as good as me!” he said a little teasingly and smirked.

“Oi, stop that!” Juuzou laughed when Haise ruffled their hair. Haise stopped, laughing now too.

“Hmm, now let’s see what to play next…” Haise said, starting to look around him.

“Hey, I’m choosing the game this time!” Juuzou said with a laugh and showed their tongue to Haise.

“Let’s see, let’s see…” they mumbled while looking around. “Ah! What about some dancing~?” Juuzou asked with a small smirk. Haise looked at him a little confused, until realized.

“Oh, you mean DDR? I haven’t played it that much, but sure, if you want to”, he said with a smile.

“Oh really? Well in that case, you’re not gonna win this time”, Juuzou giggled.

They had to wait for a while in the line until it was their turn to play. They chose the song and set up difficulties.

“You ready?” Juuzou asked, ready to press start button.

“Ready when you are”, Haise said, getting ready for the game. Juuzou pressed the button and the game started. Their difficulty was much higher than Haise’s and they had set 2x speed. Juuzou moved easily on top of the arrows, missing only few. They were really skilled.

Song ended and they both panted heavily.

“So… What you say about that?” Juuzou asked, trying to catch their breath.

“Well… I have to admit that… You’re really good”, Haise said while panting.

“Wanna go again?” Juuzou smirked after they had rested for a while.

“Hell yeah!”

And so the game started again. Again, they chose the song and adjusted the difficulty levels. Juuzou wanted to try a little harder one this time. They pressed start button, song started and they started to move their legs as the arrows appeared to the screen.

Juuzou was now missing more arrows than last time. Haise noticed that they missed right side arrows the most, and soon he noticed that Juuzou was hobbling their right leg a little.

Just when Haise moved his gaze back to the monitor in front of him, he heard Juuzou letting out a small scream, followed by thud. Haise looked at the other and saw that they had fallen.

“Juuzou, are you okay?” Haise asked with worried tone and rushed to other.

“Y-yeah, I am. I just slipped. Don’t worry, I’m okay”, Juuzou said, smiling a little.

“That didn’t look like a slip, you clearly fell! Maybe it’s better that you sit down for a while”, Haise helped other one up from the ground and put them sit to the bench.

“I told you already that I’m okay”, Juuzou pouted a little. Haise sighed.

“Just let me at least look at your leg to see if there’s something wrong, okay?” he knelt down to front of Juuzou and took their right leg to his hand. As he started to squeeze it gently, he noticed that it felt somehow weird.

“I told you I’m okay!” Juuzou quickly pulled their leg away from Haise’s hold. Haise looked at Juuzou, noticing a little bit uncomfortable expression on their face. It looked like they didn’t like when others touched their leg.

“Ah, I’m sorry…” the man got up and scratched his neck. Juuzou kept quiet for a while, until got up.

“It’s fine. Thank you for worrying, but I’m fine, really. To be honest stuff like this happens a lot to me. My right leg is… How could I describe it..? Well, it’s just not very good…” Juuzou then said, scratching their chin a little. They sighed and looked at Haise. “Come on, let’s go somewhere else. I don’t feel like playing anymore”, they started to walk out from the arcade.

“Oh, okay”, Haise said and went after them. “So, what do you want to do now?”

“Hmm, I want to go buy some clothes. I know one really good store”, Juuzou said and smiled.

“Okay then, just lead the way”, Haise smiled too, starting to follow the other to the second floor of the mall.

There they arrived to the front of small, cute looking clothing store. It was full of Lolita and different kind of street style clothes. And it looked like women clothing store. Haise hesitated for a moment until followed Juuzou inside.

“So this is the store you were talking about, huh..?” Haise asked with a little bit awkward smile.

“Yup! This is where I mostly buy my clothes actually”, Juuzou smiled brightly while they started to look at the clothes.

“I see… You must really like girls clothes?” Haise wondered, and Juuzou turned to look at the male.

“I don’t like “girls” clothes. I like cute clothes. I don’t care whether they’re meant for girls or boys. As long as they’re cute, I’ll wear them. And hey, they’re just clothes, they don’t have a gender you know”, they said, looking somehow a little bit offended.

“Ah, r-right! Sorry…” Haise apologized and rubbed his neck. Juuzou just turned back to look at the clothes.

“Oh Juuzou, you’re here~!” suddenly they heard a woman’s voice. Both of them turned around, and saw this beautiful, young blond lady. She had a name label on her shirt, so she probably worked here.

“Akira~!” Juuzou suddenly exclaimed, running to hug the woman. Haise just stood there, astonished.

“You’ve come to buy some clothes again, huh? Oh, and it looks like you’re not alone. Who is this handsome young man with you?” Akira turned her gaze to Haise with a gentle smile.

“He is Haise! The baker from opposite my shop. The one I told you about!” Juuzou said with a big smile on their face and turned to look at Haise.

“So that’s him? Juuzou has told me about you. I’m Akira Mado, nice to meet you”, the woman introduced herself.

“O-oh, yeah, nice to meet you too, Mado-san. I’m Haise Sasaki”, Haise said, bowing a little. Akira giggled.

“Well, what a charming young gentleman you are. But no need to be so formal, just call me Akira”, woman said with a smile.

“O-okay… Umm… So, you two know each other..?” Haise then asked.

“Oh yeah! Akira is my cousin!” Juuzou said.

“Oh?!” Haise raised his eyebrow in amazement. “Well I actually thought that you look kinda similar. I mean, you’re both very pretty and---“, his sentence got cut off as he realized what he said. “U-umm, I-I mean… I’m sorry I just..! Oh god I don’t even know what I’m saying anymore”, Haise stuttered and then turned his head away in embarrassment, blushing brightly. Juuzou and Akira looked at him for a while, until both started to giggle.

“Is he always like that?” Akira asked from Juuzou.

“Well, yeah, I guess he is”, Juuzou said and then looked at Haise with a small smile.

“Hmm… So, you want to try on some clothes? We got a new set of brand new clothes yesterday” Akira asked and smiled.

“Well that’s the reason why I came here, so yes, of course I want to try them”, Juuzou said, laughing again.

“Okay, just follow me”, Akira said and started to walk away.

“You come too, Haise! I need someone to tell me what they think about the outfits and if they look good on me”, Juuzou took Haise by his hand, starting to drag him behind themself.

“Oh, okay…” Haise said, blushing a little when Juuzou took is hand. They followed Akira to the fitting rooms, where she was waiting with a pile of clothes on her hands.

“Here you go”, she said as she gave them to Juuzou. “They’re some clothes I picked just for you, since I thought you would like them”.

“Ooh, thank you! I’m going to try them on now”, Juuzou said and went to the fitting room. It took a while until they were ready with the first outfit.

“So what do you think?” they came out and Haise looked at them speechlessly. Pink Lolita dress and cute ribbon on their head. Juuzou was looking just so incredibly cute. They turned around a few times to show off the dress and then looked at others with waiting expression.

“So… cute..!” Haise covered his mouth with his hand and blushed while looking at Juuzou.

“Oh..?” Juuzou blushed a little too. “Do you really think I’m cute, Haise~?” they then asked, giggling a little. Haise nodded. Juuzou giggled again and smiled.

“Okay, I’ll go try on another one then~”, they said and went back to the fitting room. Next they came out with colorful skirt, white crop top and small jacket that matched the skirt.

“Ooh, looks good”, Akira praised.

“Really? What do you think, Haise?” Juuzou looked at the male who didn’t move his gaze from them.

“Mmh, turn around a little”, he said, and Juuzou did so. “Yes… It’s very nice too. Not as cute as the previous one, but yeah, it’s nice”, Haise said, looking really focused and preoccupied.

“Hmm… Just nice?” Juuzou turned around once again. “Actually I don’t really like this either. Time to try on next one!” they said, going then back to the fitting room.

Juuzou tried on still about ten outfits.

“Okay, I’m going to buy these ones”, they said when they were done with trying the clothes, holding six outfits on their hands.

“Okay. Just come to the cash desk”, Akira said and Juuzou followed her. “Hmm… Aren’t these all the outfits which Haise liked?” the woman then noticed when she looked at the clothes.

“Ah, w-well… I chose them because I liked them too…” Juuzou felt a small blush on their face and turned their head away. Haise looked at Juuzou with little bit surprised expression, and let out a small laugh.

“Oh~? How cute you chose those outfits because of me”, Haise smirked, giggling then a little.

“N-no I didn’t! I already told, I chose them because I liked them the most!” Juuzou protested, blushing now even more.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say” Akira said teasingly. “It’ll be 10 500 yens”, she then told the price and Juuzou took out their wallet and payed the clothes. Akira packed them to a bag and handed it to Juuzou.

“Here you go. What are you going to do now?” Akira then asked.

“Hmm, I don’t really know… Ah, actually I’m kinda hungry. Wanna go eat somewhere, Haise?” Juuzou turned to look at the man.

“Sure! Actually I’m starting to get hungry too”, Haise said and smiled.

“Okay, let’s go then! Bye, Akira!” Juuzou said goodbye to their cousin and they left the store with Haise.

After some time looking, they found a good looking restaurant, and decided to eat there. When they finished eating, they roamed around the mall for some time, until it was already six on the evening and they decided to go home.

* * *

Again Haise walked Juuzou to their home, and they talked and laughed the whole time while walking there.

“I… Had really fun with you today”, Juuzou said with a small smile when they finally arrived to their home.

“Yeah, me too. I don’t think I’ve had this fun with someone in a while”, Haise smiled too. “So, see you on Monday?”

“Oh, yeah! See you”, Juuzou smiled again and Haise turned around to leave. “W-wait, Haise!” Haise turned around, and for his astonishment Juuzou ran towards him, and hugged him.

Man stood still a while, feeling a blush on his cheeks. He felt how Juuzou tightened their hold around him and pressed their face against his chest. Haise slowly wrapped his arms around Juuzou, hugging them gently.

After a while Juuzou let go of Haise and rose their head up, looking at Haise with a smile and small blush on their face. Then they turned around and walked back to the door.

“Good night”, Juuzou said with a smile, waved, and went inside.

“N-night…” Haise mumbled and just stood still, being a little abashed about what just happened. A smile came to his face and he let out a small laugh. Then he turned around, starting to walk towards his own home, with a small smile on his face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wowowow what is this? A new chapter?? Yes, that's right and I'M SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG OH MY GOD. I DIDN'T REALIZE IT'S BEEN SIX MONTHS SINCE I UPDATED THIS HOLY SHIT. I'm so sorryyy;;; Just letting you know that no I have not forgotten about this fanfic and I'm definitely not gonna ditch it or anything. I'm just a lazy piece of shit when it comes to writing, or just doing anything I should do in general hahah. ^^' But, anygays, the new chapter is finally here, so, yay! Also it's a little bit longer than usual so, that's probably just a good thing since I haven't updated this in a while, right..? Even I'm surprised how long this become holy shit. Ok I stop this rambling now and let you go read the new chapter. Enjoy~! ^^

Time had passed quickly. It has been now about a month since Haise moved to Tokyo and opened his bakery. The word about the new bakery had spread around the neighborhood, and it had become one of the most popular bakeries around that part of the town. Actually it had become so popular, that Haise had thought about hiring a few people to help him.

“So, do you guys happen to know anyone who would like to work at the bakery?” Haise was having a small break from work, and was hanging out at Juuzou’s flower shop as usual.

“Hmm, well I dunno. At least no one comes to my mind right now”, Shirazu said while thinking.

“I’d love to work at your bakery, but unfortunately I’m already working here”, Saiko said a little bit jokingly. Haise sighed.

“What about you, Juuzou. Do you know anyone?” he asked and looked at Juuzou.

“Hmm, let me think for a moment”, they said thoughtfully while putting away the watering can. “Ah, I think there’s someone. An old friend of mine. I can contact him and ask if he’s interested, if you want.”

“Yeah, that would be great! Thank you, Juuzou”, Haise said with a smile. Juuzou giggled a little.

“No problem. I’m just glad that I can be of help”, they said and smiled too.

“Ah, I should probably go back now. See you later”, Haise said and was about to leave.

“Naww, already?” Juuzou pouted.

“Yeah, I’m sorry. I’ll see you after the work”, Haise then apologized and went back to his own shop.

* * *

A few hours passed, and it was busy as always. Customers came in one after another, not leaving any space for Haise to breathe. But luckily the worst customer rush was soon gone. Finally, Haise could sit down for a while and take a small break. But just when he sat down and let out a long sigh, shop’s door opened again.

“Oh, welcome!” he greeted the person who came in, and then saw who it was.

“Heyy Haise~”, Juuzou said with their sweet, purring voice.

“Ah, hey Juuzou”, Haise said and smiled. “Having a break?” he then asked. Juuzou nodded.

“Yeah, you could say that”, they said and giggled.

“You just left all the works to others and came here huh?” the man asked with a small laugh.

“Of course. They can manage well enough without me”, Juuzou said while looking at some cakes. Haise laughed a little.

“Well if you say so”, he said and looked at the other person with a small smile on his face.

“Nee, Haise~”, Juuzou purred and walked to front of the male who was sitting on a chair.

“Mmh? What is it”, Haise asked with a smile, tilting his head a little to the side. Juuzou went even closer to him, wrapped their arms around Haise’s neck and sat to his lap. Haise’s face turned red as the other person did that.

“Wanna do something today together?” Juuzou asked, looking Haise to the eyes.

“Y-yeah, sure! What do you want to do?” the male asked, slowly moving his hands to other person’s back. Juuzou shrugged their shoulders.

“Mmh, I dunno. It’s been a while since we hanged out last time, so I just thought it would be nice to do something” they said, moving their face closer to Haise’s, so their foreheads touched.

“Hmm well, it’s been a while indeed. Maybe we could go to some nice café or something?” Haise then requested, smiling gently. Juuzou giggled.

“Sounds good”, they smiled, and then leaned their head against Haise’s shoulder.

As the time had passed, Haise’s and Juuzou’s relationship had grown. They were still just friends, but little acts like this, sitting on other’s lap, hugging and embracing each other, had at some point become a part of their lives. Sometimes they might even give small cheek kisses to each other as the sign of affection. But they only acted like this when there wasn’t other people around, because they didn’t want others to start think anything weird.

Suddenly the bakery’s door opened, and Juuzou quickly moved away from Haise’s lap. Haise rose up from the chair and walked to other side of the cash desk to greet the customer.

“Welcom—Oh”, man looked at the person who had arrived with eyes wide open.

“Ah! There you are!” the blond haired male said, pointing at Haise.

“Ha-iii-seee!” he almost ran towards the other male and hugged him, then ruffled his hair.

“Dude, I looked everywhere for you!” the man said with big smile on his face after he had retreated from the hug.

“Hi-Hide…” Haise breathed, looking at the person, not believing his eyes. “You… What are you doing here?” suddenly his face turned into a smile.

“What am I doing here? I came to see you, of course!” Hide said with bright expression.

“You came to see me? You came here all the way from the Kyoto just because of that?” Haise asked with surprised expression.

“Well, pretty much yeah”, Hide then said with a small laugh. “But hey, that’s what best friends do, right?” he then smirked. Haise laughed a little.

“But I gotta say dude, you have pretty nice little shop here”, Hide then said, looking around. Then he noticed Juuzou, who had just stood there quietly on the side. “Ooh! Who’s this pretty little girl~?” he then walked to Juuzou, smiling brightly. Juuzou felt like something almost snapped in their head when other called them a girl, but stayed calm.

“I’m sorry sir, but I’m not a girl”, Juuzou said with small smile, tilting their head to side a little.

“Eh...? What?!” Hide exclaimed, looking at Juuzou from heads to toes with a little confused face. “B-but… You’re wearing a dress. And look so frail and girly… Don’t tell me… Are you a drag queen or something?” he then asked, raising his eyebrow. For a second Juuzou’s face looked really murderous.

“Oi Hide, that’s rude!” Haise then said, stepping between Juuzou and Hide.

“Sorry sorry, I was just joking!” Hide laughed a little. “No but seriously Haise, who’s this guy?” he asked and Juuzou stepped forward from behind Haise.

“I’m Juuzou Suzuya. I own the flower shop opposite the street”, they then introduced themself.

“Oh? Well, nice to meet you. I’m Hideyoshi Nagachika, Haise’s best friend”, Hide said with a big smile and placed his other arm around Haise’s neck.

“Oh...?” Juuzou said quietly, looking at the others. “Nice to meet you too”, they then said, forcing a smile to their face. Haise noticed that and looked at Juuzou with little bit worried face.

“Hey, Haise! Since I just came here, and haven’t ever been at Tokyo before, could you show me around? You know, after you’re done with work?” Hide then asked.

“Ah, yeah sure! Of course I can. Oh…” Haise said, but then turned his look back to Juuzou. “Umm… I’m sorry Hide but, I already have plans for today”, he said apologetically.

“It’s fine”, Juuzou suddenly said. “He is your best friend, right? And he came all the way to here from Kyoto just to see you. So if you want to spend time with him, I understand”, they said, smiling a little sadly. “I have to go back to my shop now. You guys have fun”, they then went to the door.

“Ah, Juuzou, wait…!” Haise said, but Juuzou was already gone.

“Huh, you had plans with that guy? And why’re you calling him by the first name? Are you friends with him or something?” Hide then asked with a small laugh and smirked.

“Yes, I had plans with them. And yes, they’re my friend. Actually, Juuzou is the first person who I met here, and the first person who I became friends with”, Haise said, looking at Hide little fiercely. “So if it’s not too much asked, please try to be a little bit nicer to them.”

“Oh, yeah of course. Sorry…” Hide apologized, scratching his neck. “But, you know… Isn’t that guy little bit weird? Dresses in girl’s clothes and stuff”, he laughed. Haise glared at him.

“So what, what kind of clothes they use? They’re just clothes, they don’t have a gender. Just like Juuzou doesn’t have either”, he then said with somehow surly tone.

“Well, yeah, I guess that’s true but… Wait what?” Hide looked at Haise with stunned expression. “Doesn’t have gender...? What… What does that mean?”

“It means just what I said. Juuzou’s a nonbinary, meaning they don’t have a gender. Don’t you know these things?” Haise said, raising his eyebrow.

“Uh, yeah. Or well, I’ve heard that term and know about other gender identities and stuff but… It’s just…I’ve never met anyone like that”, Hide said with little apologizing tone and scratched his neck again.

“Ah damn, I feel so stupid now. I should probably go and apologize to that…Suzuya, was it? Gahh, Haiseee I’m so sorryy~ Please don’t you be mad at me too”, Hide placed his head against Haise’s shoulder, rubbing his head against it. Haise couldn’t help but smile at his friend.

“It’s fine. You didn’t know after all. And I don’t believe that Juuzou is very angry at you either. They doesn’t seem like a person who gets angry easily. Actually now when I think about it, I’ve never seen them being angry”, Haise then said with a small laugh.

“So in other words you have no any idea how they’re like when they’re angry?” Hide laughed too. Haise shrugged his shoulders.

“Well, yeah”, he laughed again. “But maybe I find out someday. You can apologize to them after I’m done with work. We can go there together.”

“Oh, okay. When your work ends?” Hide asked.

“In about an hour. And actually now that you’re here, you can help me. It’s really hard when you have many customers and work all on your own you know”, Haise said and went to the back room. Hide just agreed and followed him.

* * *

The last hour wasn’t very busy, and soon the work day was over. Haise and Hide went outside, and Haise locked the bakery’s door. Then they went to the flower shop across the street.

“Welcome! Oh, hey Haise!” Saiko greeted the man when he stepped inside the shop.

“Hey. Is Juuzou still here?” Haise asked.

“Ah, Haise!” he suddenly heard a voice from behind one of the shelfs. Juuzou appeared from behind it and ran to hug Haise.

“Hey again, Juuzou”, Haise said with a soft voice, wrapping his arms gently around the other.

“Well isn’t that just adorable”, they heard a voice behind Haise and Juuzou let go of him, looking at the blond haired male little fiercely.

“Oh, you brought your friend with you”, they said indifferently.

“Ah, yeah… It’s because he had something to say to you”, Haise then told and stepped aside, and Hide came forward.

“Yeah, well, you see…” he started, scratching his neck. “About that earlier… I said some not so nice things and well… I’m sorry”, Hide then said humbly, looking Juuzou apologetically to the eyes. The angry look on Juuzou’s face disappeared.

“Oh…” they breathed, blinking their eyes. “Don’t worry about it, I forgive you”, they smiled, and both Hide and Haise looked at Juuzou with surprised expressions, not expecting the other would forgive him so easily.

“It’s just… To be honest, at first I thought you’re some kind of douchebag or a fuck boy or something”, Juuzou giggled a little. “But now I see that you’re pretty okay, I guess.”

“What? Oh wow, not the best first impression, huh?” Hide laughed, making Juuzou laugh little bit too.

“Don’t worry Juuzou, Hide is really nice guy when you get to know him”, Haise said and placed his hand to Juuzou’s shoulder.

“Mmh, if you say so”, Juuzou said and looked at Haise with a small smile.

“Ah, by the way, I got an idea! What if all three of us go somewhere together?” Haise then suggested, and others turned their gazes at him.

“Well that’s fine for me. You haven’t lived here very long yet anyways, so it’s probably just a good thing to have someone with us who has lived here longer”, Hide said with his usual, bright tone. Juuzou thought for a while.

“Well, it would be fun I guess…” they said and grabbed Haise’s arm. “But I wanted to go somewhere just with youuu~”, Juuzou whined and placed their head against Haise’s shoulder.

“Ohh, were you two supposed to go on a date or something?” Hide then asked and grinned.

“N-no, it’s nothing like that…!” Haise protested. “And I’m really sorry, Juuzou. I just didn’t know that Hide was coming here so…” he apologized to Juuzou.

“Hmm’m, it’s fine”, Juuzou said and shook their head. “He came a long way to here just to see you after all. So yeah, we can all hang out together”, they then said with a smile.

“Aww man, now I kinda feel bad for ruining your date”, Hide said, smirking again.

“I said already that we weren’t intend to go on a date!” Haise opposed again.

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say dude”, Hide laughed, and Juuzou giggled little bit too. Haise just sighed.

“So, Juuzou, are you done with work? Can we go?” he asked. Juuzou nodded.

“Yeah! Let’s go”, they said and smiled.

* * *

They discussed for a while where to go, then decided to go to the shopping center where Haise and Juuzou had gone before.

“So, where do we go now?” Haise then asked when they went to the shopping center. Hide looked around him for a while.

“Oh wow, this is much bigger than the shopping centers at Kyoto… Ah! Is that a game arcade? Let’s go there!” he rushed to the arcade before others had a change to say anything, so they just followed him.

“Ooh, they have this game here too. Hey Haise, remember how we always used to play this together? Wanna go a few rounds?” Hide asked with excited tone.

“Oh, that… It’s been a while since I’ve played it, so sure, let’s play”, Haise smiled and sat down to the game chair next to Hide. It was some kind of fighting game. Juuzou just stood behind them, looking curiously what’s happening.

“I’m going to beat you”, Hide said and smirked.

“As if! You were the one who almost always lost to me”, Haise said with a laugh. He put some coins to the game machine, then they chose the characters and started the game.

It was pretty intense and long fight, but at the end Haise managed to win somehow.

“Hah! Looks like I haven’t lost my talent yet”, he said with a laugh and grinned.

“Ooh! That was cool. Great job Haise!” Juuzou cheered.

“Aww man, that’s not fair”, Hide groaned. “One more time! I will beat you this time!” he then said. Haise sighed.

“Well fine but… Are you okay with that, Juuzou?” he turned to look at the person behind him.

“Oh, yeah. It’s fine. I can go do something else while you two play that”, Juuzou said with a small smile.

“Oh, okay then. But…are you sure?” Haise asked.

“It’s fine! Just spend some time with your friend”, Juuzou said and left before Haise could say anything.

“Come on Haise, let’s play then if it’s ok for them”, Hide said, ready for the new game. Haise sighed.

“Hmm, fine”, he said and they started a new game.

* * *

They played a few more rounds, until got enough.

“Aww damn, you really kicked my ass”, Hide said with a laugh.

“I guess I did”, Haise smirked. “Oh right, I wonder where Juuzou went”, he started to look for the other.

After looking for a while, they finally found Juuzou. It looked like they were playing with a claw crane.

“Had any luck?” Haise asked, walking to behind Juuzou.

“Ah, Haise!” Juuzou got startled when they suddenly heard a voice right behind them, and missed the plushie they were trying to get.

“Aghh, look what you did! I almost got it!” they turned to look at Haise with pouty face.

“Ah, I’m really sorry!” Haise apologized. Juuzou just pouted again and turned back towards the claw machine.

“I’ve been trying to get that for a while now but I just can’t get it! This is just so damn frustrating”, Juuzou sighed. Haise looked at the plushies and prices in the machine.

“Say, which one were you trying to get?” he then asked.

“That one”, Juuzou pointed at the giraffe plushie.

“I see. Move away a little”, Haise then stepped forward and Juuzou moved away, a little bit confused expression on their face.

Haise put some money to the machine and grabbed the joystick. He started to move the claw slowly towards the giraffe plushie. With a press of a button, the claw moved down. It grabbed giraffe’s head, and slowly started to rise up. Only a little way to go, and the claw dropped the plushie. Haise took it and handed it to Juuzou.

“Here you go. It wasn’t that hard”, he said and smiled. Juuzou looked at him with mouth wide open. Soon the amazement turned into a big smile.

“Thank you!” Juuzou yelled and wrapped their arms around Haise, hugging him tightly. “Thank you so much!”

Haise looked at Juuzou with a soft smile, and gently wrapped his arms around them.

“It was nothing…” he said quietly, and without even noticing it, gave a small kiss on Juuzou’s head.

“Ooh? What was that? Oh, Haise~”, they heard Hide’s teasing voice and both looked at him.

“Huh...? O-oh!” Haise quickly let go of Juuzou and moved away from them. “T-that was… I don’t know where that came from I-I’m sorry…!” he said hastily, blushing brightly.

“Eh? Ah, y-yeah… It’s fine…” Juuzou mumbled and blushed too, holding tightly their plushie.

“Haha, you should see your faces! You both look like tomatoes. How cute”, Hide said and smirked.

“Oi, shut up”, Haise snarled at his friend. Hide just giggled teasingly.

“Yeah yeah, sorry”, Hide said and shoved his tongue playfully. Haise sighed and scratched his neck, still blushing a little.

“So, what are we gonna do next?” he then asked, looking at the others.

“Hmm, I’m hungry”, Juuzou said after thinking a while.

“Well should we go eat somewhere then?” Haise asked, looking now at Hide. Hide shrug his shoulders.

“That’s fine for me. Just show me the best restaurant around here!” he said and smirked.

“Okay! I know a good place! Just follow me”, Juuzou said and others started to follow them. They arrived to the restaurant and since it looked good, everyone agreed to eat there.

After eating they roamed around the shopping center for a while. Then after that Juuzou shoved them around the town a little. They just walked around Tokyo together, Juuzou excitedly telling everything they knew. Seeing them like that made Haise smile, and once in a while when Hide catched him looking at Juuzou, he couldn’t help but tease his friend.

* * *

After walking a pretty long time, they arrived to the pedestrian zone where Haise’s and Juuzou’s shops were at.

“And I guess our tour ends here”, Juuzou said, stopped and turned to look at the others with a smile.

“Wow… Just, wow. And that wasn’t probably even half of the Tokyo”, Hide said, taken aback. Juuzou giggled.

“Oh no, not at all! It would take a whole day or even longer to explore the whole Tokyo”, they smiled. “Ah, but, I think I’m gonna go now. It’s pretty late after all. And I have a cat at home who probably needs food so, yeah”, Juuzou said with a small laugh.

“Yeah, maybe it’s a good idea to head home… Wait, you have a cat?” Haise asked with a little surprised expression.

“Hmm? Yes, I have. Haven’t I told you?” Juuzou said, tilting their head.

“No you haven’t. At least I don’t remember you telling me”, Haise said, blinking his eyes a few times.

“Ah, I guess I forgot. Which is really weird because I got her about a week ago and she is the cutest little kitten ever! Do you wanna see a picture? Of course you want, here, just look at her”, Juuzou explained excitedly and took their phone, shoving a picture of the cat to Haise and Hide.

“Ooh, a calico. She is indeed very cute”, Haise said with a smile.

“She is! Even though she loves destroying my flowers and plants”, Juuzou said with a small laugh. “You should come see her sometime!”

“Eh? Y-yeah, maybe, sometime…” Haise then mumbled. Juuzou smiled.

“Well, I’m going now”, they said and hugged Haise, who wrapped his arms gently around the other person. “See you tomorrow~”

“Yeah, good night”, Haise said and gave a small kiss to Juuzou’s head imperceptibly so Hide didn’t notice. After that Juuzou left.

“A cat huh? Dude, are you serious”, Hide then said, raising his eyebrow.

“Huh? About what?” Haise turned to look at his friend.

“Well I mean, you’re allergic aren’t you?”

“Ah, y-yeah, I guess I am. I guess I forgot that, haha…” Haise laughed nervously and scratched his neck. Hide just looked at him and sighed.

“You know, Haise, I’ve been wondering…” he said, taking a few steps closer to his friend. “Could it be that maybe, just maybe, you might have a little crush on that guy?” Hide then asked with a smirk. Haise’s face turned red.

“W-what? Me? Having a crush on Juuzou? Pfff, yeah, sure”, Haise stuttered, laughing again.

“Oh Haise please, you won’t fool anyone. Especially not me. I’ve known you for years. And every time you’ve had a crush on someone, I’ve been the first one to notice that. It’s just so obvious. And this is probably the most obvious crush you’ve ever had”, Hide said with a small laugh.

Haise went quiet, and turned his head down and just stared at the ground with his face bright red.

“Just… Just please don’t tell them, okay..?”, Haise said, turning his gaze to Hide. “I just…don’t want to ruin this. This relationship we have right now, I mean…” he said quietly. Hide looked at him for a while, until let out a groan.

“Seriously, Haise? You guys already act like a couple! Just tell them, you have nothing to lose!” he tried to encourage his friend.

“B-but… What if Juuzou doesn’t like me back? What if it ruins our friendship if I tell? What if---” Hide grabbed Haise by his shoulders and shook him.

“Get yourself together man! You’re thinking too much. You guys are really good friends, right? And if Suzuya really is your friend, they won’t leave you even if you confess to them. Sure, it might be a little awkward if they don’t like you back, but you’re not gonna lose your friend because of that!” he said, looking Haise straight to the eyes with serious expression.

Haise looked at his friend, being a little bit taken aback. A little smile came to his face.

“Thank you, Hide... I know, I just…need some time. It’s not easy you know. Because I really, really like Juuzou. I’ve never felt anything like this towards someone…” Haise said with a dreamy sigh.

“Damn, you know what? I don’t only like Juuzou. I think I… I love them”, he said, looking at Hide with an expression like he just now realized that.

“Oh wow dude…” Hide said and grabbed Haise by his shoulders again, shaking him harder than before. “You! Have to! Confess!” he shouted as he shook the other male.

“Okay, okay!” Haise said with a small laugh and Hide stopped shaking him. “I will…someday. But not yet. I just want to wait for the right moment.”

“Oh come on. That “right moment” will be gone before you even notice! Seriously, I’m surprised that Suzuya isn’t already dating someone. Because if I’m being honest here, even I would date them. And this comes from a guy who’s straight. So what I’m trying to tell you is, that kind of guy will be taken right from front of your eyes if you don’t act fast”, Hide kept counseling his friend.

Haise looked at Hide for a while and then turned his head down with thoughtful expression. Hide sighed.

“Ah well, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired. So I’m heading to the hotel now”, he said and was about to leave.

“A hotel? But you could just stay over at my place”, Haise said and looked at the other.

“Yeah I know, but you see, I wasn’t really sure if I could come to your place, so I booked a hotel room for a few days”, Hide then told.

“Oh, I see. Well, I think I head to home too. See you tomorrow”, Haise said.

“Yeah, good night!” Hide said and left.

Haise waved after his friend, and then headed to his home.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A new chapter is finally here! Sorry it took so long, as always (im sorryyy;;; ) ;w; But new chapter is here, even tho there's not that much happening ^^' Anyways, I don't have much to say because I know that no one cares about my rambles and just wants to read the new chapter, so. I'll let you go read now lolol. Enjoy~!

On that night, Haise couldn’t sleep almost at all. He just couldn’t stop thinking about Juuzou, and what Hide had said to him. He really wanted to confess, but at the same time he didn’t. It was just too hard. What if Juuzou doesn’t like him back? It just really worried him for some reason.

The next morning, it was really hard for Haise to get up and go to work. He hadn’t slept almost at all, and he was very tired. When he arrived to his shop, he was so half-asleep he almost fell asleep to the door when he was opening it.

“Haiseee~!” he then heard a familiar, bright voice calling his name, and turned to look behind him.

“Good morning”, Juuzou said with a big smile.

“Ah, morning, Juuzou”, Haise said and yawned.

“Hmm, you look really tired today. Didn’t you sleep well?” Juuzou asked with little bit worried tone.

“Y-yeah… I just couldn’t really get any sleep for some reason…” Haise said, scratching his neck.

“Well that’s not good! If you’re that tired, you should just stay at home and rest”, Juuzou then said.

“Ah, don’t worry. I’m fine, just a little bit tired”, Haise said with a small smile.

“If you say so…” Juuzou frowned a little.

“Good morning guys!” they then heard someone saying, and turned to look where the voice came from.

“Good morning Hide”, Haise greeted his friend.

“Looks like you just came to work, huh?” Hide then asked. “Hmm? You look somehow really tired. Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, don’t worry! I just didn’t really get any sleep last night”, Haise told.

“Well if you say so dude…” Hide said, and then turned to look at Juuzou. “Morning to you too. Ooh, I gotta say you look really pretty today”, he complimented the other, smirking a little.

“O-oh? Thank you…” Juuzou couldn’t help but blush a little because of the compliment. “What about you Haise, do you think I’m pretty~?” they asked from the other male.

“Huh? Yes, of course. As always”, Haise said without thinking. Juuzou’s face turned red as he said that. “Ah! I-I mean—“, Haise stuttered when he realized what he had said. Juuzou giggled.

“Do you really think so?” they asked with small smile.

“Uh, w-well…” Haise turned his head away a little as he blushed, scratching his neck. “Y-yeah…” he said quietly, trying to hide his red face by turning it away even more. Even Juuzou blushed brightly and hid their face to their hands.

Hide had just followed the situation quietly, and laughed a little.

“Seriously, you two… You guys act like some teenagers who has crushes on each other”, he then said and smirked. Haise and Juuzou both looked at him.

“I, uhh, should probably go to work now…” Juuzou then stuttered and before anyone said anything, they left back to their own shop. Haise looked after them for a while, and then looked back at his friend.

“Does that really look like to you that they don’t like you back?” Hide asked, smirking again.

“Hide please, stop that”, Haise rolled his eyes and went inside his bakery.

“What? All I am trying to say is, it’s pretty obvious that guy has a crush on you too”, Hide followed his friend.

“How can you tell? You don’t even know them that well yet”, Haise sighed.

“Seriously Haise? Didn’t you see how they acted just now? Blushing like some schoolgirl. And they even asked you if you think they look pretty. Dude, it’s so obvious! Just like your crush on them. Believe me, I know these things”, Hide remarked. Haise just looked at him for a while.

“Oh, are you some love-doctor now?” he then asked jokingly, smirking a little.

“Well of course I am! Shouldn’t you know that already?” Hide said proudly and smirked too. They looked at each other for a while, until both started to laugh.

Then the door opened and a customer came in.

“Ah, welcome!” Haise greeted the customer. It was the purple-haired woman. She had become a regular customer of the bakery.

“Good morning”, she greeted Haise with a small smile.

“Oooh?!” Hide rushed to the woman and took her hands. “Excuse me, pretty lady, but may I ask your name?” he then asked.

“Hide…” Haise sighed deeply. Woman looked at Hide, blinking her eyes a few times.

“Um, I’m Touka Kirishima. Nice to meet you” the woman said with a small smile.

“I’m Hideyoshi Nagachika! Just call me Hide!” Hide introduced himself excitedly. “Kirishima-san, do you…happen to have a boyfriend?”

“Hide, stop bothering the customer”, Haise said with a deep sigh.

“Eeh? But I don’t work here. Doesn’t that mean I can bother her if I want?” Hide looked at his friend and pouted. Haise sighed again.

“Sorry about my friend, Touka. So say, what you would like today?” he asked with a smile.

“Hmm, let’s see”, Touka said and started to look around so Hide had to let go of her hands.

“It’s my brother’s birthday soon, so I want something for his party. Of course I’d like to bake something myself, but I don’t have time for that”, she then told, looking at the cakes.

“I’ll take this one. And some of those cupcakes, and those cookies”, she then pointed at the things she wanted.

“Okay. Anything else?” Haise said and put the cake and cupcakes to boxes and cookies to small bag.

“No thanks, I think this is enough”, Touka said with a smile and took out her wallet.

“It’ll be 4 255 yens”, Haise told the price and woman payed her purchase.

“Thank you very much”, Touka thanked and left.

“Thank you, and please come again”, Haise said with a smile as the woman left.

“Oh damn… I guess Tokyo’s women really are prettier than elsewhere…” Hide said, looking after the woman.

“Oi, come back to the earth please”, Haise slapped gently Hide’s head.

“Sorry! But just so you know, if I were you, I would totally date that one”, Hide said, turning to look at the other male.

“Well you’re not me, and I’m not you. I gotta admit that she is really pretty, but I don’t know, just not my type I guess”, Haise shrugged his shoulders.

“Hmm yeah, you always kinda liked boys more, huh?” Hide then remembered.

“I guess. I mean, I like everyone, regardless of gender and stuff. But I have my types you know. I like…small, cute and pretty people. Just like Juuzou…” Haise said with a dreamy sigh.

“Yeah, now when I think about it, it’s always been the cute persons you’ve had a crush on. And I can see that Suzuya is really your type”, Hide smirked.

“Well yes, they are. Damn I just… Really like Juuzou. They’re just so pretty and cute and just, such an amazing person in every way…” Haise sighed again, looking out from the window to the flower shop opposite the street.

“Oh wow, Haise, you really are in love with them huh”, Hide said while looking at his friend.

“Yeah…” Haise said with a small smile, still looking out from the window. Hide let out a long, frustrated sigh and Haise turned to look at him.

“Dude! Seriously! If you really love them that much, you have to confess! You won’t get anywhere if you don’t. And trust me, you don’t need to worry about them not liking you back, because it’s pretty obvious that Suzuya likes you too”, Hide said encouragingly.

Haise looked at his friend, not knowing what to say.

“I… I just..don’t know…” he said quietly. “I’ve been rejected so many times so I just… I guess I’m just scared to get my heart broken again…”

“Oh, right… I’m sorry I didn’t even remember. Yeah, now when I think about it, you got rejected, was it like, three or four times in a row? Man, how is that even possible”, Hide then recalled.

“Four, yes. Well, if I remember right, two of the guys were straight after all, that one girl liked someone else, and the fourth guy said that he had a boyfriend already. Also let’s not forget that they were all my friends more or less at some point, but after I confessed they didn’t want to be my friends anymore. Well, one of they guys stayed as my friend for a while, but then it just somehow, I dunno, ended? He just stopped contacting me. Maybe he just forgot about me, dunno” Haise explained and sighed, shrugging his shoulders.

“So that’s the reason why I’ve been avoiding getting crushes and haven’t confessed to anyone these past few years. And the reason why I’m afraid to confess to Juuzou”, he said and walked away from the window.

“Haise, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to pressure you or anything. I only think about what’s best for you, you know?” Hide apologized, looking at the other male.

“Don’t worry about it, I know you didn’t mean it. I’ve just had so much bad luck with my love life, so I have just kinda given up. Until I met Juuzou…” Haise sighed.

“Dude, I know you’ve had bad luck with others in the past, but you just gotta trust me with this! I’ve only been here a day now, but I’ve already seen how you two act around each other and stuff. I’ve seen how Suzuya reacts when you say or do something nice to them, and seen how they act around you. It’s pretty obvious that they like you!” Hide said, trying to encourage his friend again.

“And well, I see that you guys are really good friends. To be honest I’m kinda worried that Suzuya might be your new best friend, haha”, Hide said jokingly.

“Don’t worry, you’re still my best friend. Or well, the best childhood friend at least”, Haise said with a grin.

“Oi, what’s that supposed to mean?” Hide laughed a little, and then they both started to laugh.

“So, yeah, what I’m saying is, you guys are really good friends. And if I’m not wrong, you’re already kinda intimate with each other? I mean, you guys hug and touch each other like a normal couple and stuff. And you even kissed Suzuya’s forehead, like it was totally normal. What the heck was that anyways?” Hide then said when they had calmed down.

“Ah, well, that…” Haise mumbled and blushed a little. “Well there’s kinda, uh, a small secret between us. We haven’t told about it to anyone so they won’t get the wrong idea or anything…” he mumbled again.

“Oohhh~? Don’t tell me that you guys are friends with benefits or something?” Hide asked with a smirk.

“No! Nothing like that!” Haise said, blushing now even more.

“We just, umm… Let’s just say that our relationship has grown as the time has passed… Sometimes we just...hug or embrace each other, and even… give small cheek or forehead kisses to each other… It has kinda just..become a part of our lives at some point. I don’t even remember how it happened to be honest”, Haise then explained, laughing a little in the end.

“Wow what, really? You guys really act like some married couple already. And seriously, you guys do stuff like that, but you still don’t believe that Suzuya likes you? You really gotta open your eyes Haise! “Normal” friends don’t do that kind of stuff with each  other, you know”, Hide said with a long sigh.

“W-well, I guess we’re little bit different from others then”, Haise said with a little nervous laugh and scratched his neck.

“A little bit? More like a lot”, Hide said with a small laugh. “Hmm well, if you’re too afraid to confess straight away to them, then you could maybe try to give some hints?”

“Hints? But how?” Haise asked, looking at his friend.

“I know! Give them a flower!” Hide then suggested.

“Um, you know that they own a flower shop, right? So isn’t giving a flower to florist a little bit, I dunno, weird?” Haise said, rising his eyebrow.

“No no, you don’t understand. Not just any flower. A special one. If Suzuya is a florist, they should know the meaning of different kind of flowers, right?” Hide said.

“Well, yeah, I guess. What are you trying to get at..?” Haise asked with somehow confused expression.

“Flower language, dude! So give them a flower which tells how much you love them”, Hide then explained.

“Ohh… Yeah, right! How I didn’t think about that”, Haise said thoughtfully. “But what kind of flower should I give to Juuzou…”

“A red rose. If I remember right, its meanings are love and desire. One single red rose. Give that to them and Suzuya will understand your feelings immediately”, Hide said with a small smirk.

“Uhh, didn’t you say that I should give them hints first instead of confessing to them right away? Because if I give Juuzou that, isn’t it pretty much the same as me telling that I love them?” Haise then asked.

“Oh, right. Then let me think a moment… I talked about these flower things with some of my friends, but it has been a while, so I don’t really remember them that well anymore. That’s the only one I remember actually”, Hide laughed a little. “Hmm, maybe I just google them.”

“Yeah, maybe that would be a good idea”, Haise said with a small laugh too.

Then they heard a bell above the door ringing, and a customer came in.

“Welcome! How can I help you today?” Haise turned to the customer and started to serve them.

* * *

The day passed quickly, and soon it was time to go home. Haise and Hide came out from the bakery, and Haise locked the door behind them. They noticed that the flower shop was still open and went there.

“Haiseeee~!” they immediately heard the familiar voice yelling, and soon Juuzou ran over to them, and hugged Haise tightly.

“Hello again, Juuzou”, Haise greeted the other with a gentle smile, wrapping his arms around them.

“You came at a perfect time, my work just ended”, Juuzou said with a bright smile.

“Well that’s good then”, Haise said and smiled too.

“And actually, umm…” Juuzou let go of Haise. “I wanted to ask… There’s this one movie I’d like to see, so… Would you like to go with me?” they then asked with a little bit shy smile, and a light blush on their cheeks.

“Oh? Well, yes. Of course! It’s been a while anyways since we went to a movies last time together. So, let’s go everyone!” Haise said with a big smile, looking at others.

“No, wait. I um… I meant only you…” Juuzou said quietly, blushing now more. “I want to go only with you, Haise..!”

Haise looked at Juuzou with surprised expression, and a small blush came to his face too.

“O-oh..? Really? Well, umm, I guess that’s fine too…” Haise mumbled and scratched his neck. A small smile came to Juuzou’s face.

“Oooh~? Well look at that, they’re asking you to a date”, Hide smirked and poked Haise with his elbow slightly.

“S-shut up Hide! It’s not a date… Or is it..?” Haise asked uncertainly and looked at Juuzou.

“Umm, w-well…” Juuzou mumbled, blushing brightly. “I-if you want it to be, then sure…” they said quietly, turning their head down.

“Oh..?” Haise breathed, not knowing what to say. He just stood there with bright red face, looking at Juuzou.

“W-well, let’s go now then! The movie starts in twenty minutes, so we have to hurry”, Juuzou then said hastily and quickly walked out of the shop.

“Huh? Oh, yeah, sure”, Haise turned around and followed the other.

“Good luck!” Hide whispered as Haise walked past him. When Haise turned to look at Hide, he and even Shirazu and Saiko were giving him a thumbs up.

Haise reached Juuzou and walked next to them.

“So, um, what kind of movie is it?” Haise then asked casually.

“You’ll see”, Juuzou answered quickly.

“Hmm, okay then. By the way, why you suddenly wanted to go to movies with me?” Haise asked, looking at Juuzou.

“Umm, well… Wasn’t the plan that we should had done something together yesterday? But then Hide came and we couldn’t. So I thought maybe we could do something today. And today happens to be the premiere of that movie, so I thought that going to movies would be a good idea”, Juuzou explained.

“Oh, I see. Well, I’ve actually wanted to go to movies with you only…” Haise told, and again a small blush came to his face.

Juuzou didn’t say anything, just turned their red face away from the male.

Soon they arrived to the movie theater, and just in time.

“The movie starts in about five minutes! Let’s hurry!” Juuzou said and they almost ran to the theater. They bought the movie tickets and some popcorn, and went to the movie hall. The movie started almost right away as they sat down.

Haise didn’t have any idea what kind of movie it would be, but it was actually pretty good. It was some kind of romantic drama movie, and watching it with Juuzou was very nice.

* * *

The movie ended, and they came out from the theater.

“Well, what do you say? About the movie I mean”, Juuzou asked while they were walking away from the theater.

“It was actually pretty good, I liked it. I don’t really care about romance movies that much, but this one was very good”, Haise then answered with a smile.

“That’s good to hear”, Juuzou smiled a little. “Oh..?” they felt something dripping to their skin and looked up. The sky was really grey.

“It looks like it’s about to rain”, Juuzou mumbled, and almost right on that moment it started to rain heavily.

“Ah, shit! And of course we don’t have an umbrella! And almost all the places are already closed so we can’t go anywhere” Haise hissed, trying to cover his head from the rain.

“Let’s go there!” Juuzou pointed at the shelter under which they could go.

They ran there quickly and just stood there, leaning to the wall. Juuzou sighed heavily.

“How great, now I’m all wet”, they said and pouted. Haise let out a small laugh.

“What are you laughing at?” Juuzou snarled, still pouting.

“Nothing. You’re just pretty cute when you’re all grumpy like that”, Haise said with a small smile.

Juuzou looked at him for a while, until turned their blushing face away from the male.

“S-stop that…” they mumbled quietly.

“What? I’m just saying that because it’s true. You’re always very cute”, Haise stated, trying to keep somehow serious and straight face. Juuzou blushed now even more, keeping their head down.

They stood there without saying anything, only sounds around them being the heavy rain and cars which passed them.

“Hey, Haise…” Juuzou then said after some time.

“Yes?” Haise asked, turning his gaze to the other person.

“I umm, have something to tell to you”, Juuzou mumbled. “I’ve kinda wanted to tell it for some time now but..I just haven’t gotten myself to do it…”

“What is it?” Haise tilted his head, wondering what it would be.

“Well, um, you see…” Juuzou stuttered, nervously rubbing their arm with their other hand and looked down. Then Juuzou took a deep breath, turned towards Haise, looking him straight to the eyes.

“Haise I… I like---!” and at that moment, a loud, big truck went past them, covering all the other voices.

“Huh? What did you say?” Haise asked, blinking his eyes a few times. He hadn’t heard what Juuzou said.

Juuzou just stood there with gaping mouth and red face. They couldn’t believe that just happened.

“N-nothing! It was nothing! J-just forget about it!!” Juuzou just stuttered hastily. “Ooh! Look at the clock! I should really go now!” they laughed nervously.

“Huh? But it’s still raining. It’s probably not a good idea to go home in that rain”, Haise said, looking to the sky.

“I know but uh… I just really have to go now so..! S-see you tomorrow, bye!” Juuzou stuttered and rushed past Haise and ran away to the rain.

“Juuzou, wait!” Haise yelled after them, but too late.

“What was that all about..?” he wondered out loud and sighed a little. “Hopefully you won’t get sick because of running in the rain like that…”

After some time the rain started to calm down, so Haise decided now was a good time to leave. The whole time he was walking back home, and even after that, he just wondered what Juuzou was trying to tell him. It was really bothering him, so he hoped that Juuzou tells it to him someday soon.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh wow whats this? a new chapter? and it has been now like... about a year since ive updated this fic. so uh, oops..? i am honestly really, really sorry;;; i had no idea that it had been so long ;-; ive been busy with life and stuff. also ive been writing my other fic so i havent had time or really even motivation to write this;;; im not going to abandon this fic, so dont worry guys.  
> anygays this is enough of my rambling now so i'll just let you guys go and read the new chapter that you have probably impatiently waited. i hope you enjoy!

On the next morning, Haise woke up a lot earlier than usual. He had slept even less than last night. Actually, he hadn’t slept at all. What was Juuzou trying to tell to him..? It bothered Haise a lot. He wanted to know. He had to know.

He just lied in his bed, staring at the ceiling, thoughts spinning in his head. Just what Juuzou was trying to say. And why they didn’t finish their sentence. And why did they get all flustered suddenly and just rushed away like that..? It’s almost like..they were trying to confess their feelings or something.

Haise shook his head. No way. There’s no way Juuzou would have that kind of feelings towards him anyways. But what if…

Haise sat up. He started to think all the things Hide had told him. Then he started to think about Juuzou again, and how they acted when they were together. Could Juuzou really have feelings for Haise after all? Haise sighed.

“I need to confess to them…” he mumbled quietly, looking out of the window to the morning sky.

* * *

On his way to work, Haise went first to the flower shop as usual.

“Good morning!” he greeted with a smile, as he stepped in.

“Ah, morning!” he heard Saiko answering and the girl appeared from behind the shelves.

“Is Juuzou here?” Haise then asked, looking around.

“Oh, I’m sorry, but no. They called and told that they’re sick. It’s just me and Shiragin here today”, Saiko told and took a watering can.

“Huh, really? Oh dear… So they really got themself sick from running in the rain…” Haise mumbled with a sigh.

“Oh, morning, Sassan”, he then heard Shirazu’s voice from behind him, and turned to look at the boy. “Juuzou isn’t here today”, Shirazu said as he went past Haise.

“Yeah, I know”, Haise sighed again and rubbed his neck. “Well, I guess I’ll just go to the work now then. See you guys later”, he said and left the flower shop.

* * *

The morning was pretty quiet. At one point Hide arrived, and kept company to Haise through the whole day. Haise felt like this day went past really slowly, since Juuzou wasn’t there. He just wanted to go see them.

“Why don't you just go see them then?” Hide suddenly suggested.

“Eh..?” Haise turned to look at his friend with confused expression.

“Yeah, if they're sick, go visit them. And bring them something nice. Like, well, flowers”, Hide said with a smirk and winked.

“Uh… I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I do really want to, but…” Haise scratched his neck.

“Well if you want to go see them, then just go! I'm sure Suzuya would be glad if you go”, Hide tried to assure his friend.

“Well, I guess… Fine, I'll go then”, Haise finally decided.

“That's the spirit! Make sure to bring them a nice big flower bouquet”, Hide said with a big smile.

* * *

The rest of the day went by pretty quickly, and soon it was time for Haise’s work to end.

Luckily the flower shop was still open, and Haise headed there immediately. Hide of course followed him.

“Oh, you're here again. But Juuzou is still not here you know”, Saiko then said as she saw the man.

“I know. I didn't come here because of them tho”, Haise told.

“Huh, really? Then why’re you here?” Shirazu asked and blinked his eyes.

“Ah, well, actually… I'd like to buy some flowers”, Haise scratched his neck with a little nervous smile.

“Oh! Well then, what would you like?” Saiko asked with a bright smile.

“Umm, well…” Haise mumbled thoughtfully.

“Get roses”, Hide then whispered from behind him.

“You shut up”, Haise snarled at his friend.

“Uh, let's see… Well, tulips and daffodils. And then maybe some gardenias”, Haise said, and Saiko and Shirazu started to look for the flowers.

“And then… A red chrysanthemum and carnation”, Haise scratched his neck again with a small blush.

“Hmm, trying to confess your love to someone huh?” Saiko said with a smirk.

“Wha-- No! I just wanted to buy some flowers, that's all”, Haise said, blushing now even more.

“Suuure, whatever you say Romeo”, Saiko winked.

Haise was about to say something, but then just stood there with red face. He heard Hide giggling.

“Well, here's your flowers”, Shirazu then said and handed the bouquet to Haise.

“Ah, thank you”, Haise took the bouquet, looking at the flowers.

“And that'll be… Actually you know what, you get it for free”, Shirazu said with a big smirk.

“Uh, are you sure that's fine, Shiragin”, Saiko hesitated.

“Don't worry about it! We can pay it”, Shirazu winked.

“O-oh… Well, thank you”, Haise thanked, being a little flustered.

“Yeah yeah, you're welcome Sassan. Now go out there and go get them!” Shirazu said and turned Haise around, starting to push him towards the door.

“Good luck!” Saiko yelled after him as Shirazu pushed him out from the shop.

Haise stood there for a while, blinking in confusion. Then he looked at the bouquet on his hand.

“Well what're you waiting for? Go get them, tiger!” Hide encouraged his friend and pat his back.

“I'm not sure if this is a good idea after all…” Haise then mumbled to himself.

“Oh come on! You can't be serious! Just go already!” Hide pushed Haise forwards.

“Fine, fine! I'll go!” the other man consented and turned around to look at his friend. Hide gave Haise two thumbs ups.

“Good luck”, he said with confident face. Haise sighed.

“Well… See you later then”, Haise turned around and waved before he left.

* * *

As Haise walked towards Juuzou’s house, he couldn't help but feel nervous. What would Juuzou think when he suddenly appears to their house with flowers? What Haise should even say when he gets there? He just didn't know.

Haise was now standing on front of Juuzou’s door. He was so nervous he was almost sweating. He took a deep breath and rose his other arm, moving his hand slowly towards the doorbell. He swallowed, and carefully pressed the doorbells button.

He heard a faint “ding-dong” coming from the house. Haise took a deep breath again, and just stood there waiting.

He waited for a while, but since no one didn't come to open, he was about to ring the doorbell again. And on that moment, the door opened.

“Huh? Haise?” Juuzou looked at the man on front of them, blinking their eyes in confusion.

“Ah..! Uh, h-hello there”, Haise said with a nervous laugh, hiding the flowers behind his back.

He looked at Juuzou for a while. Their hair was really messy and they had pretty dark circles under their eyes. They were wearing an oversized t-shirt and college pants. It was really different from what Juuzou was usually wearing. Overall they just looked, well, not so good as usual.

“What are you doing here?” Juuzou asked weakly.

“Ah, well”, Haise said and scratched his neck, feeling a faint blush on his cheeks.

“I just… Wanted to come to see you”, he then told and looked Juuzou to the eyes.

Juuzou looked at him too, until blushed and moved their gaze away.

“O-oh…” they breathed, looking Haise somehow shyly from behind the door.

“Well, would you like to..come in..?” they then asked. Haise felt his heart jumping as the other said that.

“S-sure..!” he said little nervously. Juuzou smiled a little.

“Well come on in then”, they said and opened the door so Haise could come in.

Haise stepped in and took off his shoes and jacket. He then followed Juuzou to the living room and started to look around him.

The whole house looked pretty bright and tidy. On living room there was a light grey couch and a few armchairs, a bookshelf and a TV. There was a small coffee table too on front of the couch and a open laptop on it. On couch was a blanket. Haise figured that Juuzou must had laid there before he came. He saw too that there was plants almost everywhere. He too noticed a cat tree on the corner, next to the bookshelf.

“Well, go on and sit down”, Juuzou urged as they sat down to the couch. Haise hesitated for a while, until sat next to them.

“Honestly, you should had told me that you're coming. I look really horrible”, Juuzou then said with a laugh.

“Sorry. I just wanted to surprise you”, Haise said and laughed too. “And don't worry, to me you look pretty no matter what”, he then smiled gently.

Juuzou looked at him and blushed again, turning their head away.

“And your house is very pretty too”, Haise admitted, looking around again.

“T-thank you…” Juuzou said, still blushing.

“You know… There is other reason too why I came here, besides just wanting to see you”, Haise said after a while.

“Oh..? What is it?” Juuzou turned their gaze back to the man.

“Well, just… This”, Haise took the bouquet from behind his back, handing it to Juuzou.

Juuzou blinked a few times in surprise, looking at the flowers until took them.

“Thank you…” they said quietly, looking at the bouquet on their hands.

“Y-you’re welcome”, Haise stuttered and rubbed his neck.

Juuzou looked at the flowers really long and really closely.

“Say, Haise… Is there some specific reason that you chose these flowers?” they then asked after a while.

“Oh, uh… N-not really… Why are you asking”, Haise said nervously, feeling a blush on his face. Juuzou giggled and shook their head.

“No reason. Just… Do you know what these flowers meanings are?” Juuzou asked and turned their gaze at Haise.

“Um, no, I don't”, Haise said, rubbing his neck again. He was lying of course. He had searched all kind of information what he could find about flowers and their meanings, and had chosen that these would be best ones for Juuzou.

“Well… Of course they have different kind of meanings, but… All of these flowers have one same meaning, and it's love”, Juuzou said with a shy smile, looking at Haise and blushed a little too.

“Oh..? R-really?” Haise laughed nervously, acting like he didn't know. Juuzou giggled again.

“Yeah, really. Are you trying to confess your love to me or something?” Juuzou then said with a playful grin and winked at the other.

“Wha..?! N-no! O-of course I'm not!” Haise stuttered and laughed nervously.

“Hmmm really~? What a shame” Juuzou said and pouted. Then they laughed again.

“Thank you”, they said gently and moved closer to Haise, giving him a kiss to the cheek. Haise felt his heart jumping in his chest again.

“I'm going to get these a vase”, Juuzou then said and stood up, going to the kitchen.

“Oh, okay…” Haise followed the other with his gaze as they disappeared to the kitchen. Haise just sat there, looking around.

Soon he heard a faint sound of a bell and then felt something pushing his leg. He looked down, and saw a small kitten purring and rubbing its face against Haise’s leg. The kitten looked up and meowed faintly. Haise just looked at it, not knowing what to do.

“Um, hello there”, he said nervously to the cat.

“Ah! I see that you met Hana”, Haise then heard Juuzou’s voice as they came from the kitchen.

“Do you want to hold her?” they asked and walked to front of Haise, picking up the cat.

“Oh, no, there's no need for that”, Haise then refused nervously.

“Aww come on, it's fine. She's a really kind kitty”, Juuzou smiled and put the cat on Haise’s lap before he could say anything. Hana started to rub her face against Haise’s arms and chest, and then sniffed his face while purring.

“Awww look at that! She likes you!” Juuzou said with a bright smile.

“Oh, how great…” Haise then said from between his teeth, moving his face away from the cat.

“Hmm? What's wrong? Don't you like cats or something?” Juuzou asked and frowned.

“Oh, no, it's not that. I do like them. You see, it's just that I'm a-AA-ACHOO!” Haise then sneezed loudly, scaring the kitten and it ran to the kitchen.

“Uh, I'm allergic”, he told, wiping his nose.

“Oh! Oh no I'm so sorry! I didn't know!” Juuzou apologized quickly.

“Ah, it's fine. It's my own fault for not telling”, Haise said and took a tissue from his pocket, blowing his nose.

“I am so sorry… Are you okay?” Juuzou asked with a worried tone.

“Yeah, I am. Don't worry about it. I might be allergic, but it’s not too serious”, Haise assured with a smile. “Actually I should be the one asking you if you’re okay.”

“Ah…” Juuzou sat down next to the other. “Well, I’ve been better”, they said with a laugh.

“To be honest I feel really sick. I’ve been just lying on the couch watching Netflix and drinking tea. I haven’t really even eaten anything”, they told and coughed a few times.

“You haven’t eaten?” Haise immediately asked.

“Uh, well, yeah… I just don’t really feel like eating. And I don’t have any energy to make food”, Juuzou groaned and leaned back.

“Even if you’re sick, you should still try to eat something”, Haise said and stood up.

“What now?” Juuzou asked.

“I’m going to make you food”, Haise stated and started to walk towards the kitchen.

“E-eh?! No, wait, you don’t need to--”

“But I want to”, Haise looked at Juuzou over his shoulder, until went to the kitchen. “I just want to make sure that you eat properly, that’s all. You just rest now and let me do this.”

Juuzou was about to say something, but then just lied down on the couch. They opened Netflix and started to continue watching a episode of some series.

“Hanaaa! Come here”, Juuzou called their cat, who soon came from the kitchen with a pur and jumped to the couch next to her owner.

* * *

“The food is ready!” Haise announced after a while. He then soon came from the kitchen with a bowl and chopsticks on his hands, putting them on the coffee table next to Juuzou’s laptop.

“Oh, thank you”, Juuzou said and sat up on the couch, looking at the hot bowl on the table.

“I didn’t really know what to make, so I just made some ramen”, Haise said humbly and rubbed his neck.

“It’s totally fine”, Juuzou smiled a little and took the bowl with the chopsticks on their other hand. They took a small taste of the ramen.

“This is really good!” they then praised with a little bit surprised tone.

“Really? I’m glad to hear that”, Haise smiled and sat down next to Juuzou.

“Yeah, really. You’re really great at baking, but I didn’t you can cook too”, Juuzou praised more as they stuffed ramen to their mouth.

“Ah, well, thank you. I’m glad you like it”, Haise said humbly with a soft smile.

“Do you want to try too?” the other one then asked, handing the bowl towards Haise.

“Oh, no thanks, you can just eat it. I made it for you after all”, Haise refused. Juuzou pouted.

“Aww, come on now. Just a small taste. Say ah~”, Juuzou handed the chopsticks towards the man’s face with a smile. Haise sighed and laughed a little.

“Fine, if you insist”, he chuckled and opened his mouth so Juuzou could feed him. “Mm, yeah, it’s pretty good even if I say so myself.”

“See? It wasn’t that bad, right?” Juuzou said with a giggle. They then heard a cat meowing next to them.

“Oh, do you want some too?” Juuzou then asked from their cat, turning to look at her. Hana pushed her head against her owner while purring.

“I can give you a small piece of ham, but that’s all you’re going to get, okay?” Juuzou said and took a small ham piece, giving it to their cat with the chopsticks. Hana ate it happily and then licked her lips, looking again at Juuzou.

“Oh no, don’t you even try. I already told you that’s all you’re gonna get”, they said and continued eating.

Juuzou finished eating and put the bowl on the table.

“That was great. Thank you”, they then thanked, looking at Haise with a smile.

“It was nothing. I’m glad you liked it”, Haise said and smiled too.

“Mmh, a little nap would be good now”, Juuzou yawned while stretching.

“Oh. Well, if you want to sleep I guess I’ll leave then”, Haise was about to get up from the couch until Juuzou grabbed his hand.

“No, wait, don’t go yet”, they said a little shyly. Haise blinked his eyes in confusion and sat back down.

“You know you could stay and...sleep with me…” Juuzou mumbled and turned their head down when they started to feel a blush on their cheeks.

“E-eeehh??!” Haise exclaimed and his face turned red too.

“Oh no, I didn’t mean like that!” Juuzou then said hastily with a red face.

“Just… Sleep. Together… you know...” they mumbled and turned their face away again.

“O-oh…” Haise breathed, turning his head away a little too. “Well… Sure.”

Juuzou turned their gaze back to the male, looking at him for a while with eyes wide open.

“Really..?” they asked shyly, still looking at the other. Haise nodded.

“Yeah, if you really want to. I’m not in a hurry to go home”, he said with a soft smile. A big smile came to Juuzou’s face. Then they got up from the couch.

“Well then, lay down”, they said with a smile. Haise did as the other told and lied down to the couch. Juuzou then sat back down, and lied down next to him.

They snuggled closer to Haise as the man wrapped his arms around them.

“Is this good?” Haise asked, placing his head against Juuzou’s shoulder. Juuzou giggled a little.

“Yeah… Very good”, they said and yawned.

“That’s good then”, Haise smiled, giving a small kiss on other’s neck. Juuzou giggled a little again and closed their eyes.

Haise gave another kiss on other’s head this time and closed his eyes too, tightening his hold around the other a little bit. It didn’t take long as both of them fell asleep with happy smiles on their faces.


End file.
